Epitaphs Of The Heart: A Lover’s Anthology

This poetry collection is not only a celebration of love, but an embrace of what has once been and what will come again

SHAMROCK SUN


By: Miranda Kanter


@miranda.kanter

I think of you as the colour yellow.

Those specs and spatters of dust suspended in light; hushed yellow as it breaks through your window. Your window, which keeps its back to the sun, so sunrise for us only happens at noon. A midday sunrise – you are a morning delayed; seeping through the Irish flag that covers your window, washing that yellow light green.

I think of you as the colour red.

As your rouge-streaked cheeks toning mine, untempered. By September, you’ll be well back in Belfast; I turn my head to the side and stick out my tongue to scrape it clean of the words I and love and you. Without time to wonder whether I really yet mean the words stuck to the tips of my nails, I tuck them into the hair that I brush back behind your ear, for you to take back home.

Back home, I eat as you fall asleep; fall asleep just when you wake. When I wake, it’s with the sun at noon, your time.

I think of you still as a midday sunrise.

POCKET MEMORIES: HOLDING ON


By: Ella Morale


@pocket.elfie

it feels so special to hold your

book with your pencil marks

scratched through it

i want you to mark my skin

i want you to fold my corners in

at the parts that feel most

important to you

TANGIBLE LOVE


By: Eri Dixon


@eri.ecdc

Hold the fire until it burns your hands then keep holding.

UNTITLED MUSING ON DAY #103


By: Florence Syed


@sleepyy.pixie

I had to learn the hard way that love should not be unconditional. 

An honourable notion

But one that is dishonest

The way that I love is through devotion

I will spend day after day running my fingers through the knots of your hair and awakening early to place honey and bread at your feet and I will clutch your hand and kiss at your flesh in attempts to soothe when your eyes are wet

I will devote my flesh, time, blood, bones and anything you’d wish from me all that I pray is that you ask me to 

All that I pray is that you desire me to 

recognize my yearning to love you, to need you, to want you, to take you 

But love without conditions is one that neglects the self

It is one that leaves the giver with empty hands and tired knuckles

One that gives and gives and gives but the reciprocation can never be of equal footing

Not when I deify you into a god and lie on my knees before you

Worshipping and praying in a manner that many would argue is unbecoming 

But devotion has made me reckless and simultaneously weak 

Weak knees, weak ankles and weakened restraints 

and by placing you so high it leaves you in no other position but to look down at me 

And that is not the way that I desire to be looked at by any lover. 

EVERYONE


By: Annie Chantraine


@goo_g1rl

I want to be in love with everyone in the world.

My physical body is only capable of such a limited expression of love compared to the sheer scope of love I feel shoot through me like sun arrows.

I want to feel every heartbreak, every tender cheek graze, every tear hitting every casket, every kiss planted on the lips for the first time.

I want to feel it all and I want to make everyone feel it too. 

I want to follow the thread that weaves us together. 

I want to start at beginnings and cross boundaries of space and time and body and world

I want to return to you and start again, forever, differently each time.

Flame To A Wick


By: Harsh Patankar 


@vantablackcult


Candied words like wisps of smoke

Float between our lips

Filling the room with the sweet hum

Of gods flame to a wick

When I eat the sun

Casting all in my shade 

I’ll leave you the moon

The only jewel in my blade

Slick in my own depths

You refract hands of light

Many colours light a lamp

As I fall from great height

SWEAT IT OFF AND THE REST IS JUST A DAY WITH YOU


By: Emmanuelle Toohey-Carignan 


@ithinkthatuh

Moonlight on the open shore

The streetlights glowing door to door 

Your frame reclining on the floor

I don’t think I’ll speak anymore

What if I hurt you? 

Wipe the plasma off your sore

Outside we chase green shining from lighthouses in distant dark

We ran through eyesore streets and dog parks 

Let off our leash

What if I lose you to my longing?

(SUCKER PUNCH)


By: Anna-Giselle Funes-Eng


@annagiselle.fe

I think I might’ve loved you

In another life before

I wonder, is it selfish

To maybe ask you for one more?

Stand at the window waiting 

You frost the glass with bated breath 

Thinking as you breathe out the world

With lovely slow, uneven heft

Maybe I did love you once

I never can be sure

I think that if I loved you

I’d still want to. Just one more. 

Everyone deserves a happily ever after: Canada’s first romance bookstore

A look into Canada’s first bookshop catered exclusively to the romantic

By Zoie Karagiannis 

A woman wearing glasses stands with her arms out to display her pop-up shop. On either side of her are two tables with books on top. Above her is a sign that reads “Happily Ever After Books, a bookshop for romantics.”

Jenny Pool, owner of Happily Ever After Books, hosts a pop-up bookshop at The Word On The Street Toronto book festival on June 11 and 12, 2022. (@happilyeverafterbks via Instagram)

What’s not to love about romance novels? From love-at-first-glance to enemies-to-lovers, there’s a trope out there for everyone. The suspenseful plots have readers captivated and swooning, and above all, it has them rooting for characters to fall in love and find their happy ending.

According to BookNet Canada, romance fiction book sales in Canada saw a 44 per cent increase from June 2020 to June 2021, but up until this year, Canada had no dedicated shop for lovers of the genre.

Luckily for romance fans, Canada was gifted with its first romance-only bookstore, Happily Ever After Books, in May of this year – and we have Jenny Pool to thank.

The online bookstore sells everything from bestsellers, LGBTQ reads, to BIPOC love stories and historical and fantasy books, while also highlighting novels written by Canadian authors. It’s very important to Pool to have diversity in the bookstore.

She makes it her job to try and pick up any romance books people have been talking about online (she’s constantly scrolling through Twitter, Instagram and TikTok) or through word of mouth from other readers. Pool welcomes anyone to contact her if there is a book they want her to order that isn’t currently in stock.

Pool always wanted to own a bookstore and after the pandemic, where she worked from home for a construction company, she finally put the wheels in motion. Happily Ever After Books has hosted many pop-ups, which have allowed her to connect with readers face-to-face. “I wanted to interact with the public in a way I can’t in my day job, I love talking to people about romance books. It’s a sickness in the best way!”

While she has a couple of people who work for her on a by-the-gig basis to help sell books at her pop-ups and some who graciously volunteer their time, Pool is the store’s only employee. In the seven months the online bookstore has been running, it has gathered a dedicated fanbase.

“We have a group of amazing supporters and I see so many at our pop-up events every month because they so desperately want to be in-person at a romance bookstore and I want that for them too,” Pool said.

She's had multiple people thank her for bringing Happily Ever After Books into existence and giving them a space where they can come in and not be shamed for buying a romance novel.

Love is everything. I can’t imagine a world without it

Although the romance genre is immensely popular, there’s a stigma surrounding the works of love and heartbreak. A 2015 study in the Gender and Society journal described the extent some readers have gone to conceal the fact that they are reading romance, such as hiding the books from their family, regularly defending themselves and their capacity to distinguish reality from fantasy and even using book covers in public. The disdain for the romance genre can also be attributed to underlying misogyny, including any contempt some people feel toward its readers. 

But there should be no shame in reading stories you enjoy. “Everyone deserves a happily ever after. That’s our unofficial motto,” Pool declared.

Jacquelyn Middleton, a Canadian romance and contemporary fiction author, loves love. With her own romance books published, such as The Certainty of Chance and Say Hello, Kiss Goodbye, she said that there is nothing more enchanting than a love story with a happy ending. 

“Love is everything. I can’t imagine a world without it,” she said. “With all the scary stuff in the world, we need something that celebrates love, hope and so much more. The romance genre does that.”

She noticed that the romance-only bookstore is incredibly well-received and long overdue.

“Seeing Jenny start this up was a breath of fresh air, and so exciting. To have someone out there that loves romance like we do makes it feel like we are in this together,” Middleton said. “She can’t help but be successful, because she has so many people behind her who want her to succeed. She also celebrates the authors along with romance readers, and to have someone like this in your corner is so amazing.” 

Middleton enjoys all kinds of love stories. She says that romance is a genre that takes the time to have diverse characters and provides a platform for different voices and their experiences.

“We also see things being discussed such as consent or birth control. Romance is so progressive and that too is a real treat because it is always changing and always improving.” she said.

The pop-up bookstores for Happily Ever After Books have been sought-after and in demand. The store garnered huge success at the Word on the Street Toronto book and magazine festival as well as at smaller scale pop-ups at Evergreen Brick Works, Happy Soul and Little Ghost Bookstore and Cafe.

In August, the Society Clubhouse held an event with Happily Ever After Books to celebrate Bookstore Romance Day. Erica Campbell, one of the organizers, said many people were walking by the College Street patio and checking the books out.

She hopes that for every romantic, there is a novel out there that can be their perfect match

The Society Clubhouse is a multi-purpose community space run by women. As such, it was natural for Pool and the organization to collaborate and hold the event. Pool even teamed up with them to create a beer called, “Hoppily Ever After,” nodding to the hops used to brew the pale ale. Her husband helped them design the custom label and the drink was a hit with many at the event.

Pool hopes to have more pop-ups outside of Toronto soon to reach more Canadians who have been waiting for a shop like this. She wants to allow more readers in this community to get the chance to experience a romance-only bookstore. 

Pool has been able to see the romance community in the GTA continue to build and grow in real time at these events. “It’s nice that other people just appreciate being able to shop and connect with other readers, and even with myself to be able to talk about romance and find books you wouldn’t be able to find easily.”

She hopes that for every romantic, there is a novel out there that can be their perfect match.

“One of my biggest things is that I want anyone who walks into Happily Ever After Books, wherever we are, to be able to find a romance novel that’s for them. It doesn’t matter what you are looking for, and I don’t care if it’s a Duke, a seven-foot-tall alien or an aromantic baker – I’ll find it for you,” she said.

While Pool hopes to open a physical bookstore one day in the upcoming year, she is setting her sights on pop-ups, different subgenres of romance and other ways people can enjoy them. She plans to create more book-related merch and is considering starting an online book club, with the possibility of some smaller book club meetings in-person.

Valentine’s Day poetry event at Union Station intrigues local commuters

By Alexander Sowa

‘Poetry in Union: Railway Lines and Valentines’ lets travellers get a personalized love poem written by one of seven professional Toronto poets

Union Station passersby were encouraged to engage in early Valentine’s Day festivities by allowing Toronto poets to personalize a poem for them.

Commuters and visitors were invited to sit down, enjoy a free cup of hot chocolate and doughnuts while the poets did their work.

“You sit with a person in an intimate space, at a desk. Not across the desk, but together. And you just ask them questions. What’s on your mind? What’s on your heart? What do you think of when you think of train travel?” said Kate Marshall Flaherty, organizer of the event.

Kate Marshall Flaherty at ‘Poetry in Union.’ (CanCulture/Alexander Sowa)

Kate Marshall Flaherty at ‘Poetry in Union.’ (CanCulture/Alexander Sowa)

Flaherty continued to explain what the participants could expect at the end of their session with their Toronto poet.

“Eventually, as any poet will tell you, you get an image or a spark or an idea, and then you write for a minute or two. And then you read it to the traveller. Even amongst ourselves when we did it, it was very powerful. I can only imagine what it must be like for an unsuspecting traveller,” she said.

Hannah Martin, a marketing company owner, said that it was interesting to have someone attentively listen to what they had to say, as well having questions posed to them that people would not normally ask.

“(The poets) ask you questions … like ‘What is it in your life that’s going on that you need this for?’ And then you have to think about it,” said Martin.

Hannah Martin, left, with her company co-owner Shannon Litt, right, posing with their poems at the event. (CanCulture/Alexander Sowa)

Hannah Martin, left, with her company co-owner Shannon Litt, right, posing with their poems at the event. (CanCulture/Alexander Sowa)

Dominique Bernier-Cormier, one of the poets, described the writing process as wonderful and intimate.

“It feels like you create a space very quickly where people aren’t strangers anymore, very fast. But it’s tough because with only a couple of questions, you have to get a whole bunch of images to put in the poem,” he said.

Dominique Bernier-Cormier, Toronto poet, smiling while on a break from poem-writing. (CanCulture/Alexander Sowa)

Dominique Bernier-Cormier, Toronto poet, smiling while on a break from poem-writing. (CanCulture/Alexander Sowa)

Chloe Catan, the public art program manager for Waterfront Toronto, said that she gained a great admiration for the poets.

“I decided that I wanted to give my husband a poem for Valentine’s Day. I told Dominique the story of how we met in Mexico City. He listened to me for a few minutes, and then wrote a beautiful poem. I’m really happy,” said Catan.

‘A big first step’

The event, “Poetry in Union: Railway Lines and Valentines” was presented by the League of Canadian Poets.

According to Ayesha Chatterjee, the league’s former president, they are a “non-profit organization whose mandate is to encourage and promote poetry in Canada, as well as Canadian poets.”

This event is the first of its sort to be held by the league. “We usually don’t do events. Usually what we do is we’re in the background, we help to provide funding, we tweet, we use social media, we do stuff like that. We have an annual lecture at a conference, but this is the first time we’ve done anything quite like this. It’s a big first step,” said Chatterjee.

Flaherty emphasized that it was important for the poets involved to be from Toronto and showcase diversity.

“We really tried to have a cross-section of Toronto, which I think is the most multicultural, most diverse population in the world. It’s really important that we covered a microcosm of the world in Toronto,” said Flaherty.

The seven poets involved are all Toronto residents - Dominique Bernier-Cormier, Ronna Bloom, Michael Fraser, Suparna Ghosh, Jessica Hiemstra, Rajinderpal Pal and Kate Marshall Flaherty.

The Right Time

Flaherty said that she was inspired to create the event in 2017 after being sent a video of “The Poet Is In,” a similar event that was held at Grand Central Station in New York.

Since Union Station had just been renovated, she said that they were working hard in order to make it accessible, arts friendly and community wide.

Flaherty said that she hopes to make this an annual event and that they are working with Union Station to make it happen.

If you are interested in more events like this at Union Station, you can view a full calendar of all the free activities they offer at torontounion.ca/event.